Thrice
by Anthony Stark
Summary: A fanfic based on the album Vheissu by Thrice. Rated M for later content.
1. Music Box

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any lyrics from Thrice.

Chapter 1: We move for all mankind.

It was a cold day, a should be snowing day. Instead it was raining. Raining gently on the two shivering men walking down a long dirt road in the midst of a huge dark snowy mountain range, the range was called the Mana mountain range, and they made a jagged line across the edge of Amestris, on the other side, lay the sea. The younger man shuddered, pulling his tattered red trench coat closer around his shaking body, he sneezed, his hood blowing off to reveal dirty and matted blonde hair, hair that used to be golden like sunlight... His black combat boots were worn, the red soles practically gone, his black leather pants were covered in mud, and his white trimmed black overshirt was ripped in more places than not. He sneezed again, his empty golden eyes focusing on the other man's back, "Roy...where are we?" He murmured through numb lips, his words a little slurred, he had almost foirgotten their current mission, and he called his lover unabashedly by his first name.  
"I'm not sure, Ed...I'm not sure..." Roy raised a shaking hand to push his overgrown black hair out of his eyes, and turned their dark depths on Edward's face, the boy was having a worse time than Roy was, his heavy metal limbs dragging him down and making him colder, Roy winced at the dead look on Edward's face. He shouldn't have brought the boy on this mission, and sudedenly he wished he hadn't. By the Colonel's calculations, they were over a million miles from anywhere Edward would know or recognize...and they were lost in that horrible, freezing mountain range. His slow, shaky stride ceased as Edward sneezed again, and he pulled his small pack off his back, and opened the top, "C'mon, Edo, I'll set up the tent,. just wrap up in this, and try to stay warm." Edward raised his left hand to take the blanket Roy offered, wrapping it tiredly around his hunched shoulders, watching with blurry eyes as Roy struggled to put up their tiny tent.

_We move for all mankind, a million miles from everything we've ever known, and we're on their hearts and minds, a million heads are bowed to bring us safely home._

Alphonse Elric knelt beside his bed, his knees ached from his positioning, he'd only recently gotten his body back thanks to his brother, and he was still getting used to the aches and pains of sitting wrong... His hands were clasped in front of him, the only prayer stance he knew, and his eyes were raised to the sky outside of his window, he took a deep breath, "God, whatever God is out there, please...help my brother and the colonel to find the break in the circle..." He paused, unsure of what else to say, then unfolded his hands to wipe a tear from his honey colored eyes. "please bring him home safely, and help him to save us." He closed his tearfilled eyes once more, "Amen..."  
Al stood up slowly, wincing at the soreness in his knees, and looked out his window, his eyes locking on the family in the apartment across from his, they were huddled together, their heads also bowed in prayer. He opened his window, and their words drifted to him, "...Please protect our savoirs, Edward Elric and Roy Mustang...please bring them safely home..." Tears cascaded down Al's cheeks, he still wasn't used to everyone in Amestris knowing the danger they were in from the break in the protective circle Ed and Roy had worked over painstakingly around three years before. They had lived in peace after that, and now that there was a break, everyone was afraid. But most of them were more frightened that their friend and neighbor wouldn't come home.

_Hemmed in by emptiness, a million ways that everything could be undone. This hollow in my chest is filled with reasons not to sing, but I've found one!_

Edward continued to shiver, curled up under bother he and Roy's blanket in the tent, he could barely feel the strange warmth that was Roy pressed against his frozen back. He couldn't sleep, though he was completely exhuasted, and Roy was snoring quietly against the back of his neck. Edward knew something was wrong, he could tell by his body's reaction to the cold. His vision was blurry, his intire body shook, and he couldn't see anything around them, he could see the tent wall, but beyond that... nothing. Everything beyond their tiny haven was filled with emptiness, and he and Roy were in the middle, hemmed in on all sides. He focused on his own thoughts, trying to ignore the feeling that everything was coming undone. _'Hmm...what if the circle's broken in more than one place? what if we can't find the break? or if we find one and there's another...?_' he sighed, his lungs aching from the cold air around him, he shuddered and Roy murmured something against the back of his neck, making Ed shiver again. '_I...what are we going to do?_'

_in sleep we saw ourselves, a million years we had been waiting there it seems. While someone weaves a spell, a million stars look on in witness to our dreams._

Alphonse blinked slowly at the scene before him, he knew it was a dream, knew it wasn't real, knew his Brother wasn't like _that, _but it didn't stop him from wishing it were real. He was standing in a field, watching a small family tussle in the grass. Edward and Roy were sitting on a picnic blanket together, eating grapes and the like, while Al and Winry were playing with two small boys, one of which looked just like Al...the other was darker, with blurry features, obviously not Al's. The dreaming Alphonse watched his other self play with the little ones, his eyes wide, it was like magic, like he could forget everything that was happening and just watch this forever...

A young woman with dark eyes smiled, her hands weaving through a loom that sat before her, a loom with a picture of a brightly lit field and a small family in the center...three older blonds, to small boys, the darker undefined as of yet, and a tall black haired man with fair skin... She glanced upward, through the open roof of her derelict home, and grinned at the spread of stars twinkling down at her, she shook her head, "I know, I know...but he was so unhappy...yes...thank you for witnessing this...my sisters..."

_We are not alone, we feel an unseen love, we are sons and heirs of grace, we are children of a light that never dims, a love that never dies,_

Edward woke with a start, it was warmer, the storm was gone, and the sun was shining on his feet where they stuck out of the tiny tent, Roy was holding him close, obviously awake by how still he lay, and Edward sat up, dislodging Roy's arm, "When did the storm stop?" He asked quietly, Roy sat up, "Sometime before I awoke..." The Colonel replied just as quietly. Edward grimaced at the mud he'd gotten all over the blanket, and stood up, "Wow...I feel awful..." He murmured, Roy chuckled, "You look awful, Ed." He said back, Edward glared at him, but Roy just laughed, "Keep your chin up, Edward."

_Keep your chin up, child, and wipe the tears from your eyes. Stand ready and tall, reflect the light._


	2. Chapter 2: Of Dust and Nations

A/N: I do not own FMA or Thrice's music… blarg. This song is "Of Dust And Nations"

Chapter 2: Of Dust and Nations or Reaching the Desert

_the towers that shoulder your pride  
the words you've written in stone  
__sand__ will cover them, sand will cover you_

Edward wriggled out of the tent, feeling weary still, but slightly more rested, his dull golden eyes flickered around him in confusion, "Roy…where'd all the sand come from?" He asked, staring around him in awe, and brushing dried mud from his clothes, Roy crawled out of their ruined tent behind him, looking up "Wow…I don't know Ed…but look…look at the Towers? Remember them?" Edward blinked then nodded, he remember their first trip, in the middle of summer, shedding clothing that they now clutched to them like precious jewels, the high towers that Edward himself had erected, and Roy had engraved with his own Alchemy to make their circle work.

Edward staggered over to one of the towers, and struggled up the steep incline of sand around it, "The sand is covering them…how are we going to know if the circle's broken here?" He brushed sand from Roy's runes, and turned to watch Roy follow him up the hill. A sudden gust of wind made Edward's tangled hair whip around his face, and sand stabbed his face, filling the hood of his jacket, and going down his shirt, the force of the wind knocked Roy clean off his feet, and covered him with sand. Edward hurried down the slope, tripping and falling to roll to Roy's side as the wind died down, he dug through the sand until Roy emerged, coughing and spluttering, "It's alright, Edward, check the circle." Edward sighed, and clapped his hands, touching the ground, he felt his energy fly through the tons of sand, feeling along the edge of the circle, "Nope, no breaks here…" He murmured tiredly, Roy sighed as he brushed the sand from his hair and clothes, "Let's get going then.

~  
_the __streets__ that suffer your name  
your very flesh and your bones  
sand will cover them, sand will cover you_

Alphonse strode slowly down the streets of Central, sighing as everywhere he turned he heard whispers of his brother's name, and that of Roy, he couldn't stand it, the rumors that Roy and Edward wouldn't make it back alive, and Drachman soldiers would be here to kill them all soon. He hurried home, holding a shopping bag of food, he dropped it in the kitchen and flopped on the couch, closing his eyes. Every time he closed them he saw a strange vision of Roy and Edward struggling through mounds of sand, and wind sweeping the grains over them.

His vision changed suddenly, the sand whipping high, and covering his brother and Roy, grains flowing over their faces, Alphonse's eyes snapped open, and he stood quickly, his chest heaving, he shouldn't let the rumors get to him so easily, Roy and Edward weren't the only team out looking for breaks in the circle, they'd just chosen the hardest route, taking it upon themselves…

_so put your faith in more than steel  
don't store your treasures up, with moth and rust  
where thieves break in and steal_

Once Edward and Roy had managed to get free of the sand dunes, they settled in to sleep on the edge of the great sands, they started in a gap in the mountains, and stretched to the sea, Ed decided they'd just stumbled upon it in the rains. He curled his body against Roy's careful to keep his automail away from his lover's back, for the desert was frozen during the night.

The tent wasn't worth putting up, and they were far enough away from the sand not to get buried, they were wrapped in both blankets, and he could hear Roy muttering about aspirations and dreams. Edward sighed, and buried his face in Roy's back, curling his arm about the man's waist. He remembered the aspirations, remembered the treasures Roy had stored up, money and wealth, and how they'd been going to waste, unused, he remembered Roy's fear of thieves, his avarice in wanting to horde all the treasures. And also, his own gentle prying to get Roy to stop caring so for the worldly things, knowing that family, people, were all that truly mattered.

~  
_pull the fangs from out your heel  
we live in but a shadow of the real_  
~

Edward and Roy tramped onward beside the sands, eyes slitted against the wind, "Well, at least it stopped raining…" Edward mumbled, dragging his fingers through his hair a few times, it was covered in grease and grit, sand clung to his skin, and his eyes burned, his lips were chapped, as were Roy's, but Edward definitely looked the worse of the two.

"Shit! Ow…" Edward gasped out suddenly, turning to look down at his right heel, "Shit, shit…GOD DAMNIT!" He suddenly screamed in fury, Roy hurried to his side, and groaned when he looked down, a serpent had curled around Ed's boot, and sunk its fangs into Edward's heel. Roy knelt at Ed's feet,

"Why is a snake out…? It's too cold for them right now…" He looked up at Edward, "I'm going to pull it's fangs out, you get your boot off as quick as you can when I do, alright?" Edward nodded, he knew each second was allowing the venom to get closer to his heart, so he braced himself, and Roy grabbed the snake behind the head, and squeezed until its jaws opened, he pulled it free, and flung it high in the air, snapping his fingers as Ed scrambled with his boot, trying to get it off his foot. The snake landed in a charred twitching heap a few feet away, definitely dead, but Roy wasn't paying any attention to it, he grabbed Ed's foot, and placed his mouth to the wound, sucking on it, Edward stared down at him,

"Did you seriously just suck on my foot?" He asked as Roy spat on the ground, the older Alchemist nodded once before putting his mouth back on the wound, he spat again, and continued, then when he stopped he wiped his mouth, and ripped part of his shirt off to bind the wound,

"I had to suck the venom out." He said simply, and once the strip of cloth was tied securely around Ed's foot, he slid the teen's boot back on.

"Let's get going, I don't want to meet anymore of those Adders."

~  
_step out from time, see the dust of nations  
step out from time, hear the stars ovation_

Three days later as Alphonse was stepping out to do the shopping, he heard a crackling rumbling sound, and looked down, the ground was split with glowing lines, he leaned down and touched his hands to them, smiling, until they faded, "It failed…I wonder…why…?" he stood up, one break in the circle had been found, but there were obviously more breaks… Al shuddered at the thought, which team would be on its way home now? Which teams would stay in the places they'd gone to? And which teams were still searching?

Edward and Roy stepped back, looking confused,

"It failed, Roy…" Edward murmured, biting his lip, Roy nodded,

"There are more breaks in the circle, it's being worn down…" He murmured, but when he looked to Edward the alchemist was smiling, "Listen Roy, let me try something." He leaned down, and clapped his hands, touching the ground again, "Only one other break, I bet we're close." He leaned up to kiss Roy gently, "I'll bet Hawkeye's pretty upset with you right now, Mr. Fuhrer of Amestris, putting yourself on a mission…"

_Saturn will not sleep, until the sand has made us clean  
still we stack our stones and bury what we can_

That night as Edward sat beneath the stars, looking up at the glimmering cloudless sky, he sighed, Saturn was very visible, glowing in the star strewn heavens, and he felt like he'd been bathing in sand, his skin was being scoured clean, and as he glanced down at his hands, he noticed just how clean they were. Roy was snoring quietly behind him, curled on one of the blankets and beneath the other, and Edward crawled over to him, and kissed him on the nose sadly, what if they never made it home? He shook the thought away, and stroked Roy's hair until the man woke up, "Please…Roy…I…can we please?" He asked, blushing intensely, Roy grinned, not caring that he'd been woken up, he gently removed Edward's ripped and tattered jackets, and kissed his way along Edward's throat, then pulled his undershirt off, trailing his fingers down the sensitive skin around Ed's automail ports, he removed his own clothes quickly, brushing sand from his body, and pulling Edward's pants down roughly, it had been awhile.

Edward bucked and moaned beneath Roy's sweaty body, his legs pulled upward and held by Roy's arms as the man slid in and out of him, his back arched with every thrust, and his matted hair stuck to his forehead and back, he wrapped his arms around Roy's neck, curling his body up so Roy penetrated even deeper, and causing the man to moan above him. They kissed until they were both breathless, then kissed some more, and when Roy had climaxed, he kissed his way over Edward's chest and body, and took the teen in his mouth, Edward was shocked, his body convulsed, and Roy's ministrations soon paid off,

"N-nhgg…I'm gonna…I'm going to…ROY!" But Roy didn't pull away, he let Edward's seed spill into his mouth, and licked the excess from the teen's body, Edward's eyebrows contracted, "Why…?" He asked, Roy smiled, and swallowed, (Fwah fwah fwah)

"I love you, Edward, you're worth anything, besides…I like the way your taste."

~  
_but it all will be undone, and nothing built under the sun  
will ever stand before the endless march of sand_

They found out later that there had been many breaks in the circle, but having repaired them all Edward and Roy were able to return to Central, but they knew now, as they hadn't known before, that nothing was certain, and the circle could break at any time, planned or not. Because the sand ruled all where the breaks had been, and every break had occurred within the four deserts around Amestris.

This poem reminds many people of this song, and I thought I'd post it for you all to read.

"Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley..

I met a traveler from an antique land  
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone  
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,  
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,  
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,  
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,  
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,  
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,  
And on the pedestal these words appear:  
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:  
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"  
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay  
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare  
The lone and level sands stretch far away.


End file.
